FREEPORT - The Monroe girls basketball team's offensive game started clicking against Freeport in the Snack Bowl, but the Pretzels were able to hang on for a 53-45 win on Saturday.
"The kids played hard," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "I'm proud of their effort. Part of it is we have to have that confidence and believe. They (Freeport) just made a couple of more plays than we did. In those close games, we will continue to learn."
Monroe junior Chandra McGuire scored a team-high 12 points and junior Vanessa Studer had 11 points. Junior Kirsten Vetterli added nine points and senior Briana Katzenberger chipped in eight.
Monroe junior Whitney Disch scored down low with 4 minutes, 52 seconds left to cut the Pretzels' lead to 41-40. Freeport sophomore Mariah Katzenberger drilled two 3-pointers to give the Pretzels a 47-40 lead with 3:04 left. Studer knocked down a 3-pointer at 1:28 to cut the Pretzels' lead to 48-45. The Pretzels made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I think we all got down a little bit because we haven't been winning," McGuire said. "It's just very frustrating because we know we are capable of winning and we didn't. We just have to keep our heads up."
Freeport senior Bryn Buckwalter scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds. She scored 10 points in the second half and also blocked three shots.
"She is a strong player," Mathiason said of Buckwalter. "They did a very good job of putting her in position. I thought we were in a good position at times. She just made some tough shots."
Mariah Katzenberger, Briana's cousin, scored all 13 of her points in the second half.
"I was happy for her," Briana Katzenberger said. "Even though we didn't win, I can still brag that I picked her off. We knew we had to come out hard on offense. We pretty much have our defense coming together. It's nice to get a lot of people scoring."
Monroe (1-11) jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first quarter after senior Heather Barta hit a 3-pointer. Buckwalter gave the Pretzels a spark in the second quarter when she blocked a shot and then drove in for a layup to give the Pretzels a 15-14 lead. The Cheesemakers answered late in the second quarter when Vetterli scored down low on the break before the buzzer to give the Cheesemakers an 18-17 lead at the half.
McGuire scored nine of her 12 points in the second half including seven in the third quarter. She attacked the basket on the drive and that opened up some scoring opportunities for the Cheesemakers. McGuire said the Pretzels started playing a lot more physical on defense.
"We couldn't get the easy passes in so we had to go around them," McGuire said.
The Pretzels capitalized down the stretch by turning in some defensive stops and then knocking down clutch free throws.
"Our shots weren't falling and they fed off of that," Briana Katzenberger said.
Mathiason likes the offensive balance the Cheesemakers displayed.
"Getting two people in double figures is nice," he said. "We need to continue to find that consistency. We need to put it together on offense and defense at the same time."
"The kids played hard," Monroe coach Sam Mathiason said. "I'm proud of their effort. Part of it is we have to have that confidence and believe. They (Freeport) just made a couple of more plays than we did. In those close games, we will continue to learn."
Monroe junior Chandra McGuire scored a team-high 12 points and junior Vanessa Studer had 11 points. Junior Kirsten Vetterli added nine points and senior Briana Katzenberger chipped in eight.
Monroe junior Whitney Disch scored down low with 4 minutes, 52 seconds left to cut the Pretzels' lead to 41-40. Freeport sophomore Mariah Katzenberger drilled two 3-pointers to give the Pretzels a 47-40 lead with 3:04 left. Studer knocked down a 3-pointer at 1:28 to cut the Pretzels' lead to 48-45. The Pretzels made 5 of 6 free throws down the stretch in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"I think we all got down a little bit because we haven't been winning," McGuire said. "It's just very frustrating because we know we are capable of winning and we didn't. We just have to keep our heads up."
Freeport senior Bryn Buckwalter scored 16 points and had 11 rebounds. She scored 10 points in the second half and also blocked three shots.
"She is a strong player," Mathiason said of Buckwalter. "They did a very good job of putting her in position. I thought we were in a good position at times. She just made some tough shots."
Mariah Katzenberger, Briana's cousin, scored all 13 of her points in the second half.
"I was happy for her," Briana Katzenberger said. "Even though we didn't win, I can still brag that I picked her off. We knew we had to come out hard on offense. We pretty much have our defense coming together. It's nice to get a lot of people scoring."
Monroe (1-11) jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the first quarter after senior Heather Barta hit a 3-pointer. Buckwalter gave the Pretzels a spark in the second quarter when she blocked a shot and then drove in for a layup to give the Pretzels a 15-14 lead. The Cheesemakers answered late in the second quarter when Vetterli scored down low on the break before the buzzer to give the Cheesemakers an 18-17 lead at the half.
McGuire scored nine of her 12 points in the second half including seven in the third quarter. She attacked the basket on the drive and that opened up some scoring opportunities for the Cheesemakers. McGuire said the Pretzels started playing a lot more physical on defense.
"We couldn't get the easy passes in so we had to go around them," McGuire said.
The Pretzels capitalized down the stretch by turning in some defensive stops and then knocking down clutch free throws.
"Our shots weren't falling and they fed off of that," Briana Katzenberger said.
Mathiason likes the offensive balance the Cheesemakers displayed.
"Getting two people in double figures is nice," he said. "We need to continue to find that consistency. We need to put it together on offense and defense at the same time."
